Crown and Coffin
by illhousen
Summary: Worm and Persona fusion. Taylor grew up in a world without capes, which did nothing to solve the problems she faced in school. One day she woke up in a strange place filled with fog.
1. First Reading: Reversed Arcana

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**First Reading: Reversed Arcana**

As my consciousness faded, I found myself in a place between dream and reality.

I was floating on a river of blood, and its hazy depths I heard impotent curses and hopeless cries for help from those who have tormented me.

In this last moment of clarity I knew peace for the first time in years.

I could lose myself here, allowing the river to take me wherever it wanted.

But the moment ended and darkness has overtaken me.

* * *

I came to my senses slowly, emerging from the deep darkness of the unconsciousness.

Warm surrounded me. I felt some kind of liquid on my skin, caressing my form, invigorating me, taking away all the little pains that follow all of us and giving me strength. It has a peculiar metallic smell, but even that was enjoyable.

I smiled, and my smile was real.

I thought about just lying here and enjoying the sensation, but as reason returned to me, I started to realize I was in a bathtub. It was a bad idea to be here for too long. I could fall asleep again.

I opened my eyes.

Blood.

I saw blood.

I smelt blood.

The bathtub was filled with blood.

I was lying in blood. Blood was around me and on my skin and in my hair and in my pores and in my veins I had to let it out I had to scrub it I had to get out I had to get clean shit so much blood shit shit shit!

"Please, forgive me!" The pleading voice returned me to my senses. I was sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood and my own vomit. In my hand was half of a razor. I cut my fingers, adding my blood to the rest. Another half was embedded in a face of a figure prostrating herself before me.

Everything around was hazy, heavy steam of yellowish color obscured the features of the figure, and my own vision didn't help matters. I was pretty sure she was a woman and wore a maid uniform, however.

I dropped the razor.

"W-who..." My throat was painfully raw, and I realized I was screaming moments ago. "Who are you?" I said. "Where am I? What's going on? What do you want?" Even as I was saying it, I crawled back and frantically looked around. The only exit from the bath was blocked by the woman.

"Please, Your Majesty," she said in a wavering voice. "Your Majesty is waiting for you. She will explain everything. Please, allow me to help you get dry. I have clothes for you. Please."

What was going on? Was it a dream? No, I knew how dreams felt. No smells, no tactile sensations. There was pain in my fingers, there was the metallic smell, there was the sensation of... the sensation of blood.

I vomited again.

I felt so sick.

What was going on?

I looked at the woman.

She was prostrating herself before me, mindless of the pool of b- liquids around her.

Somehow, the sight calmed me a bit. I was shivering, I was scared, but I could act. Probably.

What was she saying? She offered me to get dry. Yes. It was important. Getting... that out of my skin.

"S-stand," I said. "Let's... let's clean me."

The cleaning took a long time. I used water from the sink, trying not to look at the bathtub, and scrubbed all over my body. I still wasn't satisfied. I was sure the... stuff was still on me, lingering in pores where I can't reach it.

I felt a bit better, though. At least my fingers weren't bloodied anymore. There wasn't any wound. I didn't cut them, it seemed, probably just pressed hard and mistook other liquid for my own.

Then the woman gave me the clothes. A tuxedo, complete with a top hat and a domino mask with lenses put in eye sockets.

I quickly dressed up while the woman was cleaning around.. I knew it was irrational, but I felt just a bit safer. The clothes were a layer of protection between me and this strange world.

I hesitated holding the mask in my hand, but in the end put it on.

Looking through the lenses, I could see no steam. In fact, my vision was perfectly clear.

For the first time I could see where I was. A luxurious bathroom, the kind I imagined when I dreamed about what it would be like to live in a huge mansion. In fact, I was pretty sure I recognized it from a movie I once watched with my mother. Though I pretty sure there was a mirror in that bathroom.

Then I looked at the woman and screamed.

She had no eyes. Just two dark bleeding holes.

I pushed her outside and locked the door, heavily leaning against it, searching for the lock. I've managed to turn the key on the third try.

What the hell was going on? Where was I? Was it hell? What happened to me? What is my last memory before this... this place?

I couldn't remember.

"Please!" the woman pleaded from the other side of the door. She was speaking for a while, I thought, I just couldn't register it. "Please, Your Majesty, we have to go. Your Majesty is waiting!"

Slowly I sat down, still leaning against the door. I put my head on my knees and put my hands on my ears.

I couldn't deal with it. I just... couldn't. Maybe it was a hallucination. Maybe someone will find me wandering the school or the town and will bring me to hospital and I'll get some medication and everything will be fine...

No, it won't be.

That, if anything, I knew.

The pleading stopped after a while. I was left alone in a bathroom filled with blood.

* * *

The door shattered and I was send sprawling on the floor.

Two tall figures clad in rusted armor stood in the doorway. Their helms were bleeding.

Both deeply bowed to me and spoke in synchronized monotone.

"Forgive us, Your Majesty. But Your Majesty has requested your presence. Please, come along."

I quickly stood up and backed away from them, but there wasn't much space to move.

"I am not going anywhere!" I said, but my voice sounded pathetic even to me.

"Please, forgive us," they said again before moving fast to each side of me and lifting me by my shoulders.

I kicked and screamed at them, but they didn't pay much attention to it.

We moved out of the bathroom and into a corridor.

Soon, my legs touched ground again and I fell into step with two armored figures. It was easier that way.

I told myself I was going to bid my time and look for an opportunity to run away.

The walls around us were covered in paper yellow from time. There was writing on the walls, and as I looked, I recognized it for what it was: my own handwriting describing all things I've suffered at the hands of my tormentors.

Why was it here? What kind of sick joke was it?

Desperately, I hoped I was delusional. I hoped I went crazy from everything in my life. I hoped I was seeing things.

But I couldn't convince myself of it. It was too good to be true. Not something that would happen to me.

We moved quickly through the corridors and spirals stairways and soon reached our apparent destination.

A huge dining hall decorated with tapestries depicting some royal figure conquering her enemies, overseeing trials and receiving gifts from her subjects.

Thousands candles were strategically placed around the room, drowning the space in shadows and traitorous flickering light.

The centerpiece of the room was an enormous table nearly crumbling under all the food placed on it. Delicacies I only read about in books.

My stomach took this moment to remind me that I didn't eat in... I didn't know how long.

At the head of the table a woman was sitting on what looked like a throne. She was clad in shining bronze armor and a heavy steel crown was on her head.

And she had my face.

Looking at her was like looking in a twisted mirror. I recognized the features, seeing them so often, but they were warped by the cruel smile and predatory gaze of strange yellow eyes.

My two companions marched me to the other end of the table, released my hands, bowed and walked to the door to stand guard.

The crowned figure slowly cut a piece of meat on her table and ate it looking at me.

"Took you a while to come here," she said. She had my voice, but it was broken by an echo that had nothing to do with acoustics of this place. "Sit. You must be hungry, so eat. And I will explain the situation to you."

I did as she said. That seemed to be the wisest choice. Just do as I am told, and the situation will pass eventually.

The meat was delicious. There was some strange smoky flavor to it, but that just added to the pleasure. I didn't realize just how hungry I was before I started eating.

I didn't touch the drink, however. It was red, probably wine. And it reminded me too much of the bathroom.

The woman with my face watched, slowly eating her own meal. When she saw that I finished, she said, "You are wondering what's going on here. I will explain. I am Taylor Hebert."

I stared at her, lost for words.

"You are my Shadow," she continued. "The fake self created from all the useless parts of me I've discarded. You are nothing more than a furniture which purpose is to distract people from me as I am busy with important things. However, I am growing tired watching your pathetic life. Day to day, year to year you allow others to step on you. You allow others to become close to you and turn the knife in your wounds. It is so frustrating to watch someone with your face being such a sorry excuse for a human being. So I think I'll replace you. I will certainly live a better life in your place than you ever could. Even someone like you should be able to see it."

She took a delicate sip from a goblet, staining her lips with red. An eyeless servant immediately refilled the goblet.

"That's..." I had trouble speaking. What was happening, this whole situation, everything was absurd. How could I hope to understand what was happening? "That's impossible." I decided to stick with what I knew to be true. "I am Taylor Hebert."

She laughed. A cruel, mocking laugh that denied the very foundation of my existence.

"You are not me," she said at last. I felt something inside of me twisting at this words and shadows around me growing deeper. "You are not anything, really. How could you be without acting? How could you be without doing anything? What do you do when confronted with Emma, Sophia and Madison? With their lackeys and indifferent teachers? You cower in fear, you allow them to do what you want. You are pathetic little furniture, existing only to amuse others. Stepping aside and allowing me to take your place will do you good. You can stay here, free from your petty concerns, while I do what you should have done if you weren't so useless."

She gestured, and the eyeless servant removed the cover from the central plate.

"Case in point," my counterpart said as I stared in horror at the image before me.

It was a severed head. And through its upper half was obscured by an ornamental helmet, the lower half I recognized. I saw it so many times with my head bowed down as its owner leaned close to me to whisper insults.

"Sophia..." I whispered.

Then I looked at my plate.

Oh.

Oh shit.

I felt sick.

I ran. I had to get out of here. If I were to spend any more time here, I'll... I'll... I didn't know what would happen. Maybe I'll go mad, if I weren't crazy already.

I ran through corridors with walls telling my sorry story, up and down the stairs. I didn't know where I was going, I didn't know if I were any closer to the exit. I didn't even know if this place had an exit.

It was a nightmare. One horrible scene after another, terrifying absurdity after terrifying absurdity. How could this place exist? How could I be here?

I met a few people on my run. Eyeless servants and maids, rusty knights and police officers with holes in their chests. They were stepping aside the moment they noticed me.

Was there an end to this madness, or did this place just go on forever, space warped to lock me inside?

I reached two massive doors and pushed them open. I ran into the entrance and stopped in my tracks. I was outside the building.

No, I quickly realized, I was in some kind of an inner garden. The paper walls surrounded it, with three more entrances on each side and opposite me.

The garden was bare but for the numerous wooden stakes rising high, like greedy fingers trying to reach dark red sky. On each stake was impaled a humanoid figure, many squirming, some motionless.

Another nightmare.

"Like what you see?" said a familiar voice behind me.

I turned to find the woman with my face standing here, looking at the garden and smiling fondly. I backed away from her.

"Even such a pathetic thing as you should be able to appreciate what I did here," she said, still not looking at me. "Look closely and be grateful."

I looked at the figures again and recognized them as Winslow students with their eyes plucked out.

"You are a monster," I whispered, trying to catch my breath.

She laughed.

"That is what you always wanted but couldn't do since you don't have the good parts of Taylor Hebert," she said almost gently. "You see now how much better I will be in your place."

"I never wanted it!" I shouted. "I am nothing like you! You... this place... everything! This is insane! I want it all to disappear! I want to be back!"

Her features twisted. The bronze armor warped, expanding and taking on a new form.

I tried to run, but something coiled around my leg, sending me to the ground. As I turned, I saw a chain attached to the armor that has become an Iron Maiden surrounded by torture devices composing a strange mechanism. Spikes, wheels, chains, barbed wire and other things I didn't recognize were interlocked and intervened, moving together in perfect synchronicity.

The Iron Maiden opened, and I saw a beating heart in the middle, suspended by bloodied wire.

Chains emerged from within and coiled around my body, hooks biting into flesh. Screaming and fighting, I was dragged inside, and the spiked metal closed before my face.

I was in a dark confined place, my head resting against the beating heart. I felt blood soaking into my hair.

The unwelcome memories resurfaced in my mind, threatening to drown me if I allowed myself to concentrate on them too much.

The only light was coming from the hollow eyes of the Iron Maiden, level with my own.

"You, ungrateful furniture," said the familiar voice. In the dark, I had troubles distinguishing it from my thoughts. "You should be thanking me for allowing such a lowly thing as you to witness my work. Look!"

Looking through the eyes of the Iron Maiden, I saw chains extending to the impaled figures, finding their flesh. Agonized screams filled the air. Blood flowed from the figures to the Iron Maiden, filling it and drowning me.

I couldn't even trash around without impaling myself on sharp spikes. Staying still and frozen in horror was all that I could do.

Yet despite myself I felt... pleasure.

Fresh blood soothed the pain in my wounds left by the hooks and washed away the exhaustion from the long run.

"That's what it's like to be me!" said the Iron Maiden in my thoughts. "That's what always lied beyond your reach! Power! Control! Life!"

One of the spikes suddenly extended, striking me in the stomach.

"I should kill you here and now and be done with this charade! I will take the place you occupied for so long and teach the world to respect the name of Taylor Hebert you marred with your existence!"

More spikes were extending, slower this time. I closed my eyes. Please, just let it be over.

"But..." The voice changed. It lost its energy, suddenly sounding very tired. "It won't change anything, will it? You are but a little shadow. Even your death has no meaning. Futile."

The metal monstrosity disappeared, leaving me lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

I didn't move. I barely thought.

There was no pain, but I wished there was. That, at least, would have provided a distraction from my counterpart and her words.

She was slowly walking away from me.

"Servants will arrive shortly," she said, her voice devoid of any intonation. "They will clear you up and show you your room."

"J-Just kill me," I managed to say. Even though my voice was barely audible even to me, she heard it.

"Didn't I say? Your death would be just as meaningless as your existence. You will live and learn to appreciate the life of Taylor Hebert the way I will handle it."

With that, she left me alone.

* * *

"Sorry, Your Majesty!"

I was sitting in "my" room - a copy of my real room, expanded to include lavish furniture. Windows were replaced with television screens tuned on static. Wallpapers were familiar papers from my diary of daily abuse.

I watched the eyeless servant whom I recognized as Greg trying and failing to set up what was supposed to be my dinner. I wasn't going to eat it. I wasn't going to eat anything in this place.

Seeing him spill the red liquid all over the table and the floor has awakened something in me.

Everything that happened since I found myself in this place came at me at once. Anger and fear and frustration and despair - all mixed together. I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know what was going to happen. I just... I just felt so helpless.

I took a bottle of red liquid from his hands and smashed it against his head.

"Shut up!" I screamed. "Just... shut up! Useless freak! Go and leave me alone!" I continued smashing his head, each plea and apology just angering me more.

"Hard to deny it, isn't it?" The familiar voice interrupted me mid-swing.

"What?!" I shouted before realizing who it was and taking a step away from the woman with my face.

"Me," she said coming closer.

I held the broken bottle threateningly at her direction, but she didn't pay attention to it, going to the now bleeding servant prostrating himself before us and stepping on his neck. Metal boot fell hard, and the servant began to choke.

"This world is broken, you know," she said in an almost gentle tone. "Even such a pathetic thing as you can dominate its denizens. But I'll fix it. In the end, everyone will bow to me. Nobody will look down on me. Nobody will be able to threaten me. Nobody will betray me when I had their necks in my chains."

She twisted her leg hard, and the servant turned into red mist which quickly disappeared.

She looked at me and smiled.

"What a wonderful world that will be," she said. "Now eat. It's good for your health."

She stepped into the wall, disappearing into the ink that covered it.

I let the broken bottle fall on the floor and sat heavily on the bed, burying my head in my hands.

I still didn't understand what was going on. I couldn't do anything. I was helpless in the control of powers I couldn't comprehend.

But... Wasn't it always like that? Ever since my mother died, did I truly have control over my life? Her life was taken by an accident. My friend was taken by Sophia by means unknown. My peace of mind was taken from me by their efforts. I couldn't even eat lunch where I wanted to, forced to hide in a bathroom stall.

Maybe she was right. Maybe I was pathetic. Maybe I should just step down and let her do what she wanted. How could I stop her, anyway?

I was useless.

"Taylor?" a voice suddenly said from behind me. It had the same echo as the voice of my counterpart, but the speaker was different.

I turned around and saw...

"Emma?" I said. No, not her. She had yellow eyes, just like the woman with my face. Another surprise from this place. Another way to torment me. I was too tired to really care.

"Oh, God, Taylor, I am so glad to see you!" she said excitedly, trying to hug me. I pushed her away and stood up, searching for my broken bottle.

"Look," she said, "I know you have no reason to trust me, but please, I am begging you, come with me! We don't have much time, but if we act quickly, we can escape her! Your Shadow, I mean."

I looked at her, not moving.

"We are on the same side," she pleaded, reaching for me but stopping when I took a step back. "Please. She wants to capture and torture me. Please, we have to escape this place."

Did I really have a choice?

I sighed.

"How do we do it?"

She smiled at me, relief evident on her face.

"There are empty spaces in the walls. She can't see inside. That's how I survived. We just need to open a crack in one of the mirrors."

"Mirrors?" I asked. I didn't think I've seen a single mirror at all here.

"Yes. Any mirror on the wall will do," she said pointing at the paper on the wall closest to her.

"I don't see any mirrors. Just paper," I said.

"Huh?" she said, confused. "The cracked mirrors are everywhere here. Walls are covered in them completely. Don't you see them?"

"I only see paper," I said. Was it some kind of cruel joke this place was playing on me? Tempt me with an opportunity to escape, then deny it from me?

"Well... I..." she said hesitantly. "Maybe... you can... follow me?"

I shrugged. "Let's try it."

She reached for the wall and placed her hand on an empty spot. There was a date written above it, but no actual writing.

"Wait," I said. "Show me those cracks you were talking about. Point at them."

She looked at me and nodded. She pointed at more empty spaces. Dates, but no writing.

There was something similar between them. I frowned and thought about it. Those were... There was something familiar... Yes, I got it. Those were the holiday dates. Of course. No school meant no abuse meant no writings.

I laughed, a broken nervous sound.

"Taylor?" Not-Emma looked at me.

"Nothing," I said. I reached to the wall and tore the empty space. It expanded, shifting the paper around it, though not breaking the writing, and a dark narrow passage was revealed to me.

I stepped inside, Not-Emma following close behind and trying to catch my hand. The wall closed behind us.

There was no visible source of light, yet I could see in shades of grey.

"Oh, Taylor," Not-Emma said carefully stepping around me to lead the way. "I am so, so sorry for you. For what you have suffered at the hands of your Shadow and for what you went through before it."

I looked at her as we started to walk in the dark corridor.

"But please, you have to believe me, it wasn't me! It's my Shadow! She has replaced me, pushed me into this world just like your Shadow wants to do with you. I would never do to you what my Shadow did!"

I walked in silence.

Time lost its meaning in the dark. I didn't know how long I was walking, Not-Emma's breath hot on my neck, her hand holding mine, her body leaning heavily on me.

Eventually we emerged from the corridor into a small room. There was a blanket on the floor and a tiny wooden chest.

"That's my lair," Not-Emma said. "Pathetic, right?" She giggled before looking at me with a nervous smile on her face. "I know I am weak. I am not a survivor, like you. All I can really do is hide in the shadows of those stronger than me. But... I have you now, right? You cared about me, before my Shadow replaced me. You even tried to care about her, too, even though she tormented you from the first time you've met. Look!"

She opened the chest and, after some rummaging, produced a flute. My mother's flute that was stolen from me such a long time ago.

"My Shadow threw it away, but I found it!" Not-Emma said. "I kept it safe because I knew you'll come for me one day. Because we are friends. Everything will be fine now. With you in the lead, we can take our Shadows. We can take our lives back!"

She handed me the flute.

Could I really trust her? After everything that happened, could I risk opening my heart to her once again?

Did I have a choice in the matter?

Did I have a choice in anything?

Hesitantly, I took the flute from her.

And broke it.


	2. First Reading: Arcana Twice Reversed

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**First Reading: Arcana Twice Reversed**

"What have you done?" said Not-Emma with horror in her voice.

I looked at the remnants of my mother's flute in my hands. Slowly, my hands closed into fists.

I spoke in a monotone voice, not thinking about what I was saying. It was easier that way. I could say what I really felt like that.

"I am so, so sick of people telling me what to do. I am sick of being a bit player in other people's little dramas I know nothing about. This place, the life before, there was never a significant choice I could make. Everything was decided for me, everything predetermined without my knowledge or even understanding. All I could do is to be carried by the current trying not to drown. I don't want it. I don't want to live like that. Being bullied, being her prisoner, being your friend - all of this has nothing to do with my will. Those are just circumstances imposed upon me. But I say enough. I'll put a stop to it. I'll tear this place apart if that's what it takes. Destruction works. Things I broke stay broken. And that should be enough for me."

"That's not how it's supposed to be," she whispered with tears in her eyes.

I started walking away, leaving Not-Emma in her dark lair.

"Goodby, Emma," I said. "I don't need you and your little play."

She lunged for me, sending me to the ground.

"That's not how it should go!" she shouted. I tried to get her away from me, but she was strong. Her hands found my neck and squeezed. "You are supposed to stay with me! You are supposed to guide me! Your are supposed to take care of me!"

Desperately, I searched around trying to find anything that could help me. My hand found the remnants of the flute that fell to the floor.

"Do you know how hard it was to find that flute?! Do you know how long I've practiced to play the right tune to make them stuff you into the locker so you'll end up here?! You are not going to leave me! You'll never leave me alone!"

I plunged the flute remnants into her eyes.

She screamed and pulled back, and I used that opportunity to reverse our positions, pressing on her with the full weight of my body.

Something in her gave, and I fell to the ground surrounded by the red mist.

I breathed hard, just starting to realize what I have done.

I felt sick.

But...

That was what I wanted, wasn't it?

I didn't ask for it. I didn't ask to be bullied, I didn't ask to be humiliated day after day after day. I held on, and the universe paid me with this place and its horrors. Assaulting me with horrors, playing tricks on my mind, twisting the knife in my wounds.

Enough.

I had to act. I had to take control.

And if that meant tearing this place apart stitch by stitch, that was what I was going to do.

My thoughts were interrupted by the whole building shuddering. Something big was going on, I could feel it.

Another thing imposed upon me.

I stood up and tore the closest wall, finding myself in a corridor.

I didn't know where I was and where I should go, but that was nothing new. Life was a maze. Sooner or later it'll throw something at me, but this time I'll be ready.

Soon I saw a knight in rusted armor hurrying down the stairs.

"You there!" I shouted at him.

He turned to face me and bowed.

"Your Majesty. It is dangerous here, you should be in your room."

"Give me that!" I said catching up with him and taking the spear from his hands. "Where is she? My Majesty - I mean, Her Majesty - I mean, whatever, where is she?"

"Your Majesty, I..."

"You'll lead the way," I said firmly. "Take me to her."

He hesitated, but then bowed again and started walking. I followed.

We walked through the corridors that were more narrow than I remembered. Stairwells spiraled down into bottomless pits, enormous halls drowned in darkness concealing not-quite-human figures. Every few minutes the whole building was shuddering. I felt its parts moving around, rearranging themselves.

I had to hurry.

Eventually, we reached a big amphitheater, each row covered in television screens displaying various rooms of the building. There was movement on one of them. Three human-looking figures stood before what looked like a corpse of a dragon slowly evaporating into the red mist.

In the center of the amphitheater stood the woman with my face. She was surrounded by knights in rusted armor and police officers with holes in their chests and eyeless servants and other figures I didn't bother to identify.

"You three!" she shouted pointing at a group of knights. "Go to the entrance, attack the scanner girl."

I walked down the stairs of the amphitheater, and she noticed me.

"You," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I am here to take back my life, Shadow," I said, thrusting the spear in her direction.

She scoffed.

"The castle is under attack. I don't have time for your tantrums."

I ran to her. She gave a few more orders to the figures around her before disappearing into the wall.

Why people had to make everything more difficult than it had to be?

I screamed in frustration and smashed the television screen closest to me.

I ran back up the stairs.

Where could she be? This place was shifting, directions and locations didn't mean much. Where should I go?

The garden. That was the center of everything, her masterpiece. If I could find her anywhere, that would be there.

I ran through the corridors keeping my destination in mind. Up the spiral stairwells, always up to reach the red sky.

Soon I was joined by a cohort of my Shadow's servants. All of us were running in the same direction, and likely to the same destination.

Finally I saw familiar double doors, now wide open as the flood of servants was flowing through them.

The garden was lying before me. Once it was a place of torture and execution. Now it was a battlefield.

My Shadow was in her Iron Maiden form, spinning wheels and sending chains in the direction of the attackers.

Figures familiar to me from the screen. Two boys, one in leather jacket armed with a sword, another in fancy outfit armed with a mace, and a girl in fur jacket armed with a double-edged ax.

They were not alone this time. Each has an inhuman figure by their side. The girl was riding a huge twisted hound with spikes growing from its flesh. She was dodging the chains slashing at her and trying to get closer to the body of the construct. A dove with hands of a man stood by the boy with a mace's side, doing something. Light emanated from it, projecting a complex diagram on the ground, and where it touched the horde of servants emerging from the doors, they were stopping and lashing around in confusion, hitting their companions. The boy with the sword was hacking at the incoming servants, a human figure in ornamental armor with a scepter in its hand stood behind him, watching out for my Shadow's attacks and touching the boy from time to time, closing his wounds.

I didn't have time to watch them. I went straight to my Shadow. The light created by the dove touched me, but I felt nothing. I crossed the empty circle around my Shadow which none have crossed yet when she noticed me.

"You!" said the familiar voice.

The doors of the Iron Maiden opened, exposing beating heart. Chains went after me, hooks biting into flesh. I didn't resist as they dragged me inside.

The girl on the hellish dog noticed what was going on and urged her mount to run, jumping over coiling chains.

"Rachel, no!" The boy with the sword went after her, but the ground under his feet exploded with emerging stakes. He dodged, but one of the spikes went through his leg.

The girl screamed, and her hound ran faster. She hacked at a chain that went for her neck and severed the thick metal completely.

She didn't notice two chains crawling on the ground, coiling around her hound. They rose up, biting into her flesh and dragging her towards the construct.

The doors of the Iron Maiden closed behind me, and through the hollow eyes of the metal mask I saw the girl being strapped to the spiked wheel which my Shadow held like a shield before it. More stakes emerged from the ground, impaling the hellish hound. Chains bit into it, drawing blood flowing into the Iron Maiden.

"Just be still and quiet," said the familiar voice indistinguishable from my thoughts. "I'll deal with you later."

I twisted my neck and bit into the heart.

My Shadow screamed, spikes on the inside of the doors extended, impaling me one by one, but I continued to tear the heart with my teeth.

If I were to die here, my death will not be meaningless. I will give it meaning.

If the world went against me, I will rip it apart.

Metal parted and I found myself lying on the ground. My Shadow was standing a few steps away from me. My spear in her hand, she leaned heavily on it, clearly using it for support.

I swallowed, and felt a part of her heart going into my stomach.

I stood up on shaking legs and smiled at her. No matter what happened next, this will be the last time she looked down on me.

Then a disembodied fox head surrounded by static appeared between us. It wore the most smug expression I've ever seen despite a gashing wound where one ear once was.

"Taylor!" the head said. "We don't have much time! You have to accept your Shadow!"

"What?" me and my Shadow asked in unison.

"I know it is hard," the head said. "Believe me, I know. I went through the same once. But you have to accept her, you have to admit to yourself that what she is is a part of you, buried deep in your heart. It is the only way to stop it. It is the only way for you to return to your life."

That was just too much.

"Shut up!" I screamed. "I have to do nothing!"

"No one will define me but myself!" screamed my Shadow.

"Who are you, coming here and telling me what to do like you know anything about me?!"

"Breaking into my castle, killing my dragon! And you have the nerve to demand anything?!"

"I am sick of people deciding my role for me like they have any right to do it!"

"The world is mine for the taking! It it goes against me, I will rip it to shreds!"

"We know better than you!" said me and my Shadow in unison.

My Shadow's features twisted, and something twisted in me, too.

Her armor expanded, but did not turn into the Iron Maiden. It formed a coffin in which she lied as her body was ripped by convulsions, turning her form into more masculine and adding mustaches to her face.

Soon, she was an imposing man in rich but dusted clothes covered in opera cloak. His eyes were red. There was a stake in his chest, pinning him to the coffin. His hands clasped it.

Three more coffins formed from the red mist emanated by my Shadow, One of them was occupied by a woman whose features were obscured by moving shadows. The other two were empty.

The coffin with my Shadow inside rose into the air and stopped right above my head. Three coffins formed a triangle around us, one behind and two in front and by sides.

Chains emerged from the main coffin, binding the four together. More chains coiled all around my body, forming an armor.

With all my anger, all my frustration I screamed to the heavens, my scream echoed by the man who was my Shadow.

And the heaven answered with a rain of stakes falling on my enemies.

They dodged, their wounds healed compared to the last time I saw them, new strength running in their veins. But it didn't matter.

All who stood against me should fall. It was inevitable.

I laughed, a cruel mocking laugh defying their very existence.

I felt wonderful!

I felt powerful!

I felt in control!

I felt alive!

I fell on my knees.

Huh?

Ah yes, I was still bleeding.

Then darkness overtook me.

* * *

As my consciousness faded, I found myself in a place between dream and reality.

I was floating on a river of blood, and its hazy depths I heard impotent curses and hopeless cries for help from those who have tormented me.

This time I felt something else present, deep under the red currents, dark and enormous. It called for me with promises of power and sweet release from all my worries.

I didn't feel peace anymore. I felt cold.

I clasped my hands around my shoulders and felt a coffin forming around me. I allowed myself to relax a bit.

Nobody could harm me if I didn't let them into my heart.

* * *

I came to my senses slowly, emerging from the deep darkness of the unconsciousness.

Warm surrounded me. As I regained my memories, I opened my eyes, looking around frantically.

There was no blood. No wounds on me, either.

I was lying on a bed, warm blanket covering me. Soft morning light from a big window illuminated the sparse room.

A blonde blob was sitting in a chair near my bed.

I narrowed my eyes trying to see clearer. I was pretty sure it was a girl.

"You are awake," she said. "How do you feel?"

I looked around once more. I didn't see any sight of fog.

What was going on? Was it another facet of that place? Another nightmare prepared for me?

"Oh, sorry," the blob girl said. "Here." She handed me glasses.

I put them on and stared at the now clearly visible girl.

She looked... normal. A blonde girl with freckles on her face and an unsure smile on her lips.

"Who are you?" I said. "Where am I? What's going on? What do you want?"

The girl blinked, but her smile became more prominent.

"I am Lisa. You are in the real world, near the Docks. It's our headquarters, actually. We've got you here to recover from the... encounter we had. Nothing is going on now, everything's over. And I want to talk."

I stared at her. For some reason she reminded me of the fox head in my memories. It was not a pleasant memory.

"Talk," I said.

She didn't hesitate.

"Do you know what happened in the last few days?"

"And what happened?" I asked.

"A lot of Winslow students went into coma. You disappeared around right before it started. We found that the source of the incident was a construct in the Fog World - an enormous polyhedron of polished bronze mirrors standing on a thin "tail" piercing Shadow Winslow. We ventured into it and found a powerful Shadow - your Shadow - inside. She was the one behind it, apparently. Now that she is gone, students start awakening. I was hoping you could fill the blanks?" she said.

"The Fog World? Shadows?"

"The Fog World is a sort of parallel dimension," she said immediately. "It's a world mostly similar to our own, but warped. Normality is replaced by symbolism, so to speak. Walls bleed, the sky is red, stairways lead nowhere, that kind of thing. Shadows are its denizens. Each person has a Shadow. They represent everything we deny or hate about ourselves, everything we don't want to talk about. But if you accept your Shadow, admit that it's a part of yourself - not necessary something you want to have, probably something you want to work through - it becomes a Persona, a spirit guardian that is always by your side." She looked at me with intense gaze. "Each of us has a Persona, each of us has confronted our Shadows and managed to defeat them by accepting them and denying them hold outside of our hearts. So, if you want to talk about it, there are people who would understand. You don't have to, though, it's up to you."

I nodded slowly.

"I awoke inside my Shadow's domain. I don't remember what happened before that. She... kept me around. I decided I didn't like it."

She smiled at me.

"And kicked our asses, yeah."

I winced.

"That was impressive, really," she said. "You'd make a great addition to the team if you want to join."

I looked at her sharply.

"You don't have to," she said. "But we have a good thing going. Solve problems in the Fog World. Try to help lost people to deal with their Shadows. You would be welcome here."

I considered it.

"Can I leave?" I asked.

"Yes," she said. "You should talk to Mr. Calvert first, though, to take care of the police issue."

"Police?"

"You disappeared for days. A missing person report was filed by your father. Don't worry, though. Calvert pulled some strings, so you wouldn't have any troubles. You'll just need to hammer down the details."

I nodded slowly.

"I'll... think about it. Your team, I mean. There is stuff I want to know. Now, where are my clothes?"

"You sure you don't want to lay for a little longer? Trips to the Fog World are exhausting. The boys are still sleeping it off."

"I am fine," I said. And I was. I felt great, in fact.

Her smile dropped, but she pointed at the edge of the bed. A neat pile of unfamiliar clothes was lying here.

I dressed quickly. It was uncomfortable. Jeans were too tight, the shirt too revealing - it barely covered my shoulders.

I nodded to Lisa.

"Let's meet your boss, then."

She chewed on her lip for a moment.

"There is... Another little problem."

"What?" I snapped.

She sighed heavily.

"I guess it's easier to show than to explain... Come here." She walked to the door, I followed a few steps behind.

When she opened the door, I saw Sophia standing right behind it.

She looked at me with empty eyes, quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty."


	3. Omake: Hanging Men

.

**Hanging Men**

When Alec has awaken, he found himself sitting on a coach before a TV turned to static.

A boy who looked just like him with an exception of yellow eyes was sitting near.

"Hey," said the boy with yellow eyes.

"Hey yourself," said Alec. "Who are you?"

"I am your Shadow, the true self. I am you, and you are me."

"Oh," said Alec. "It's one of those days."

"So," said the Shadow opening two cans of beer and passing one to Alec. "Our father sucks."

"That he does," said Alec.

"And you are a borderline sociopath unable to connect with people. Because of that, even though you despise your father, you are afraid you'll end up just like him simply because you won't notice or care when you are crossing the line."

Alec sipped his beer and shrugged. "Sad but true."

"So," said the Shadow pulling a controller from under the coach. "Halo?"

"Halo," said Alec.

And that's how Alec's got his Persona.


	4. Second Reading: Black Spiral

.

**Second Reading: Black Spiral**

"I ate you," I said to Sophia who was meekly staring at the floor.

The sign of her brought memories of smoky taste in my mouth and the gruesome image of... I almost forgot about it over everything else that happened, one nightmare after another, each dulling the impression from the previous one. Now that I was confronted with the remnants of one of them, I...

I felt sick again.

I didn't want to feel like that, I didn't want to return back.

"Err... What?" said Lisa.

I pulled myself out of the dark well opening in my mind.

"Nevermind," I said. "What is she doing here?"

Lisa scowled looking at Sophia.

"She went into coma like other students, but when you were brought here, she awoke, somehow managed to escape, and came here. We tried to restrain her, but she would fight us, and she screams about 'Her Majesty' unless we leave her near you... We didn't really know what to do with her, but seemed content to just sit near you, so eventually Mr. Calvert just said to let her be and that we'll decide something once you are awake. So, any ideas?"

"Wait," I said frowning. "How long was I here?"

"A night."

"And how long was it since I... disappeared?"

"Two weeks."

Two weeks... I felt chill crawling up my spine. I spent that long in the Fog World? It didn't feel that long, did it? Where did the lost time go? Did I spend a day in the bath? Two days walking dark corridors behind the walls? How could I not notice it?

"Time flows differently in that place," said Lisa. "It's like fairy tales. You spend a nigh there to discover years have passed outside. Only not as dramatic as far as i know. Time there passes only when something is happening. Every moment of stillness can stretch into hours, days... Are you sure you feel alright?"

"Yeah," I said thinking about what she has told me. An altered perception of time, another way of this place to strip control from me. "Why do you ask? I though that boy with a sword has healing powers? Pretty sure his.. Persona, right? Pretty sure his Persona closed his wounds back then."

"Yes, but there is only so much he can do. The Fog World drains the life out of people venturing there. The process is slow, there are a few cases of people surviving for a whole month, but there should be signs after two weeks."

"Well, there aren't," I said looking at Sophia once more. There weren't any true distractions in this conversation. Everything went back to _her_, to my Shadow and what she - we - have done. "I think," I said carefully. "I think she - or her Shadow, I guess - was in one of my coffins. I think my Shadow did something," we ate her, "to gain control over her. I... am not sure how to reverse it."

"She called you Your Majesty. So, order her?"

I looked at Lisa dubiously. She shrugged.

"I order you to be free," I said flatly. "I release any and all control I have over you."

"Of course, Your Majesty," said Sophia. "Thank you, Your Majesty. From now on, I will be your servant out of my own free will, Your Majesty."

I sighed. Of course it wouldn't be that simple.

"How about ordering her to behave like she did before she fell under your control?" said Lisa.

I shrugged.

"You heard her," I said to Sophia. "Do it."

Sophia looked at me dully before averting her eyes.

"You bitch, I will never forgive you for what you have done to me?" Her words sounded more like a question than a statement. There was no malice and no force in them. "Everything we've done to you would seem like a pleasant dream after I finish with you? If you permit it, Your Majesty," she quickly added.

I rubbed my forehead. I had my grand finale, I confronted my Shadow, but nothing was truly resolved. My Shadow was a part of me now. I knew it in my bitten heart. I could no longer deny that a big part of me wanted to keep Sophia under control, never to stand against me, never to bully me again. I felt safer like that, one less person who could hurt me.

And I felt like shit for stripping a person, no matter how awful, from their free will for my selfish reasons.

"Any more ideas?" I asked.

"You may try summoning your Persona and getting it to release the hold on Sophia, given that she's in one of the coffins," Lisa said, but she sounded distracted. She looked at Sophia from this angle and that, eventually covering the upper half of Sophia's face with her hand and staring at the chin. "You shouldn't do it here, though. Your Persona is pretty big. Better to do it in the basement."

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Hm?" said Lisa before stopping poking Sophia and looking at me. "Oh, I just think I know that chin. You said she was inside one of the coffins. Was she dressed in that really fancy armor with an ornamental helmet?"

"I only saw her head, but yes, there was a helmet. Dark bronze, a fancy ornament and a plumage?"

Lisa nodded.

"Yeah, I think it's her. Voice is similar, too. We ran into a Persona user some time ago. Offered her to join or at least share information, but she wasn't interested. Said we were kids playing in heroes. She even shot Brian in the Fog World once when we ran into her. Said she mistook him for a Shadow."

"Huh," I said. "Maybe we should put restraints on her before trying to free her, just in case."

"Good idea."

We exited the room.

"You know," said Lisa as we walked down a corridor. "You shouldn't feel bad about it. Whether or not you can release her, it's not your fault."

"Isn't it? It was my Shadow who did it, and she is a part of me, right?"

"Shadows are parts of us that we suppress. Dark desires, fears we don't speak about... Ultimately, I think it is good to know about them, good to be aware because then you can be prepared. But they don't have to guide you. Even if you accept your Shadow, you don't have to act on its nature. What they are should be tempered by reason."

"But she wasn't tempered by reason. She was free to do what she did. Isn't it my responsibility?"

"You didn't know about any of that. To feel bad about it is like feeling bad for wishing that someone would die only for them to do so the next day. It wasn't something you did, regardless of your desires. It just happened. You had no control over it."

"I do now," I said.

We walked the rest of the way in silence.

* * *

Soon we arrived in what looked like a living room. An old sofa, a few comfortably-looking chairs, a large TV with consoles lying near it in a mess of cables.

A girl that I recognized as the one who rode a demonic hound into battle was sitting on one of the chair, surrounded by three large dogs. I nodded at her and she nodded back before continuing staring at an almost skeletal-thin man in a business suit, uncomfortably perched on an edge of the sofa.

The man quickly stood up once he noticed me and smiled with relief.

"Ah, Miss Hebert, glad you to see you joined the land of the living once more. I am Thomas Calvert, a government representative in charge of this group." He looked at Lisa and I noticed her shaking her head.

"I am still thinking about joining," I said. "I would need more information about what you do and the like."

"Of course," he said. "A wise decision. Shall we talk then?"

"Not now, please," I said pointing at Sophia who was following me like a puppy, my order to behave like before revoked to simplify matters. "I am trying to... deal with her. Lisa said we should go to the basement."

"May I accompany you?" He glanced at the girl with dogs who didn't stop staring at him. "We can hammer out your cover story now so as not to waste time."

I shrugged.

"Sure."

He started talking the moment we exited the room.

"The story I prepared is simple. You went into coma like other students. That happened on your way home from school. You were found and admitted into a hospital, but in a shuffle caused by the incident you were labeled as Jane Doe. Doctor Pitter knows enough to not ask questions and arrange matters, so there shouldn't be any problems. You were not identified until you awoke and gave the necessary information. That will be today or tomorrow, depending on how fast Pitter can work. The best part of the story is that such situations happened to other students. They were identified fairly quickly once hospitals knew what was going on, but it's not unbelievable that one person would slip through cracks. Loss of recent memories is a common symptom of this coma, so you don't need to worry about coming up with details about time before waking up in the hospital."

"And my father? Can I tell him the truth?"

"You may, if you so wish, but it would be... preferable to keep him in the dark. Every person in the know is a security risk. Of course, should you decide to inform him, it should be done in my presence so I can confirm the truth of the situation as well as clarify the details about the secrecy policy."

"Why is it so important to keep what happened secret, anyway?" I asked. "Shouldn't people know about the danger?"

"Normally it's not an issue," he said. "The Fog World and our reality are completely separate from each other. There are usually a few incidents every decade or so, but our organization is fully capable of handling them. There is minimal danger for people, and releasing the information can do more harm than good."

"Normally?"

"Yes." He sighed. "Recently, the number of incidents has increased. We have nine recorded ones."

"That's why we are here, in Brockton Bay, to begin with," said Lisa. "The Fog World intrusions seem to form a spiral centered on the city. Or, to be more precise, on Winslow High. I think whatever is happening, it's connected to the Polyhedron."

"The place my Shadow was?"

"She occupied only a few upper levels, near the entrance. We still don't know what lies beneath and what it would do."

"Yes," said Calvert. "The recent events are... concerning, so please forgive us if we come across as pushy in trying to recruit you."

Lisa scowled at him.

By now we were standing in a middle of a dusty basement, so I asked, "How do I release my Persona, anyway?"

"It's... hard to explain," said Lisa. "You should reach inside of you, listen to your inner self and follow its lead."

"That's helpful," I said.

She shrugged.

"Screaming 'Persona!' seems to work for the boys. It's mostly instinctive as far as I can tell."

I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on... something. Surprisingly, I felt it almost immediately. It was in my veins. A pulsation, like some vessel was filled to the brim and about to burst. I focused on the sensation to the exclusion of all else. Sight, sound, touch, taste, smell - all disappeared in cold blue light surrounding every part of me, inside and out. Slowly I opened my eyes, and the light was here, dimming with each moment and revealing four familiar coffins, three around me and one above. They were connected with chains, and more chains formed from blue light coiled around me, creating an armor.

Sophia immediately took her place before her coffin shrouded in shadows, her form alert, ready to pounce at any threat to me.

That felt _right_. And i couldn't bring myself to hate that feeling.

Lisa and Calvert stood aside, watching my Persona with interest.

I concentrated on the feeling in my veins again, trying to find a way to break my hold on Sophia. My mind was filled with images of hunts. Great beasts that should not exist appeared before my closed eyes, and always there was a dark figure that would strike them down with a spear or a bow, or lure them into a trap, or poison them with toxins hidden in a corpse of a prey. Thousands upon thousands of successful hunts, strategies and tactics for every mark, eyes to find any weakness that exist and weapons to reach them.

But in every image the dark figure wore a collar to hide her torn throat, and there was a bronze chain that I knew was now coiled around me.

There was no lock on the collar to open, and no weapon known to me would break the chain.

I sighed and looked at Sophia. Maybe I'll think about something if I didn't concentrate on the problem too much. It should probably be something simple and symbolic, but what?

To distract myself, I resumed the conversation with Calvert.

"So, back to secrecy. You said things are changing now. Shouldn't the policy change too? The danger is real now."

"Yes," he said, still looking at my Persona. "And there is a talk among higher-ups about this very issue. With the amount and scale of the incidents increasing, it would probably benefit us if we didn't need to spend effort on concealing information and could openly request cooperation from relevant agencies. For now, though, the policy stays. Potential panic aside, there is a bigger concern. It is possible to initiate the contact with the Fog World from this side. There was a case two decades ago..."

"Caused by our illustrious organization," said Lisa.

"A _precursor_ of our organization," said Calvert pointedly. "A group of scientists attempted to establish control over a location in the Fog World, hoping to harness its power. That was done without the knowledge of higher-ups, you understand, on orders of Jacob Bell who didn't have that kind of authority. Suffice it to say, the results were not pretty. Many lives were lost, people becoming unwilling vessels for foreign Shadows invading our world to act out their desires. I hope you understand why we would be reluctant to risk such a thing happening again."

I nodded and looked back at Sophia.

"I really don't know what to do about her," I said. "Nothing comes to mind."

"As I said, it's not your fault," said Lisa. "If you can't release her, then that's it. Maybe you'll come up with something later, maybe not, but either way it shouldn't be something for you to feel bad about. You are not responsible for her."

"Indeed," said Calvert. "We'll take care of her for now... Provided you order her to stick around and listen to us. And I am sure you'll nail the problem down eventually." He pointed at the coffin above my head where a man with a stake in his heart was.

Lisa and me groaned. But I did feel a bit better.

* * *

Arrangements took surprisingly little time once everything was decided. Apparently, Calvert and Pitter had enough pull to retroactively admit me into a hospital with little fuss. And so now I was lying in an uncomfortable bed staring at the cracks in the walls and waiting for tomorrow when I would officially wake up.

It was certainly convenient to have a government agent helping me out. It was probably part of his strategy to recruit me. To demonstrate his power and tempt me with implications. If he could so easily rearrange my past, certainly it would be no trouble to transfer me into another school. He hinted at it, actually, saying that despite their work his group was still provided with quality education.

All of this was, of course, incredibly shady. A bunch of teenagers engaged in occult activities, with their parents unaware of the situation and a government spook with probably fake name hovering over them.

On the other hand, they did come to rescue me, even if didn't go exactly as they planned. I didn't forget that. They had to be doing something good.

So, should I join them?

It's not like I didn't have other problems. The confrontation with my Shadow gave me a lot to think about. She was a part of me, a dark part that I never acknowledged, but still something that originated inside my mind. What did it tell about me? Was I a bad person? And what should I do? Suppress the feelings manifested in my Shadow once more? Embrace them? Try to find some kind of a middle road which may not exist?

Either way, Sophia was a living proof that I had to arrive to some kind of answer soon.

Then there was Emma. Her Shadow was obsessed with me. She spoke about being weak, living only in shadows of those stronger than her, a group to which I apparently belonged in her eyes. Her Shadow was a part of her. Suppressed part that she never acknowledged, but still a part just like my Shadow was. What should I do with such a knowledge? Did it even change anything after two years of abuse? Should I try to help her? Ignore? Use it to torment her like she tormented me with private knowledge she gained by being my friend? Drag her into the Fog World so she and her Shadow could have a chat?

And, most importantly, when has my life gone so horribly wrong?

I sighed and closed my eyes trying to sleep. Perhaps morning will bring me answers to at least a few questions.

* * *

I opened my eyes to the world of red.

Red fabric surrounded me, floating in the air, making me feel like I was on a scene just before the play would start or in cocoon about to burst. Even though the fabric looked like it should be in motion, pulled down by the gravity, there was no movement. The scene was perfectly still.

I was sitting on a chair draped with the same red fabric before a table of polished red wood. Another chair was on the opposite side of the table, empty. A glass with red liquid was put before me. I didn't touch it.

Something was wrong. I mean, besides the obvious. It took me a few moments to realize exactly what.

There was no floor. The chair and the table were floating in the air, same as the curtain. I could see stairs spiraling into darkness below me.

I held onto the chair, thinking about what I should do. I could probably jump on the stairs from here, if I could stand on something, but that plan depended on the assumption that the chair wouldn't just fall down the moment I moved too much.

It was obvious I was back in the Fog World somehow. And this place was treacherous, not yet mine to control.

My thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a hole right on my eye level. It grew slowly, its edges consuming the world of red around it leaving impenetrable darkness in its place. At first I thought the hole was on the curtain opposite me, but as it reached the empty chair, it, too, was consumed along with a part of the table.

The hole stopped expanding just in time to prevent me from deciding that's enough and jumping to the stairs.

Now the hole was in a shape of a man sitting in the chair with hands folded. I assumed they were folded, it was hard to tell with them being part of the darkness.

"Taylor Hebert," said the voice without echo. It didn't travel through the air. It was.

"Who are you?" I asked, my gaze fixed on the hole. There was something inside of it, something I almost could see...

"East King," said the voice. "And before you ask, you are not in the Fog World as you call it."

"Where am I, then? And what do you want?"

"You are on a crossroad," the voice said. The hole shifted then, more of the red world being swallowed by one edge, emerging from another, colors just a bit paler than before.

If it were a man, the movement would be him gesturing to the table, on which four cards appeared. One was lying near me, showing a picture of a man in iron crown sitting on a throne and the words "The Emperor" written on it. Another was at the center of the table, upper half crossed by a dark crack, an extension of the hole, a pointed finger. The card showed a picture of a horned red head with man a women standing before it, chained. The words on the card were "The Lovers." Two more cards were lying closer to the other side of the table, to the left and right of the central card. Their images were yet to be revealed.

"You have two possible paths to take," the voice continued.

The hole shifted again, the crack on the central card repairing itself, leaving pale colors behind.

"One path promises salvation."

Another appeared on the left card, which turned to reveal its image. The image was that of an angel calling for the dead to rise from their graves. Unlike other cards, that one was turned towards the hole, and so to me the dead looked like they were falling from the graves into the sky below them.

"Another, well..."

The final card was revealed. A skeletal rider on a white horse. The card was titled "Death."

I felt uneasy looking at the cards, but the rest of my surroundings wasn't any better. And so I stared at The Emperor. That card felt better than the rest, almost calming.

"What are you talking about?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

"Your Shadow, Taylor. It is too big for you. Too much was suppressed over the years. It would eat you from inside. With each passing moment, you will become more and more like her."

I looked straight at the hole where a man's eyes would be. Echoes of distant images tempted me to look closer, but I paid them no attention.

"I defeated her. She is no more. There is only my Persona now."

"Your Persona is Vlad the Impaler, Taylor. Is it the face you want to show to the world? A tyrant, a sadist, a murderer?"

"It is... It is a part of me. It is who I am," I said, but even to my ears that more like a question. I thought I accepted it to some extent, but to speak it aloud was hard.

"Perhaps," the voice said. "But is it who you want to be? Some parts of humanity are better kept in the dark, never to be acknowledged. Take Sophia Hess, for example."

I jumped a little at the sound of that name.

"She has her own Persona, too, as you know. She confronted her Shadow and emerged victorious. She faced her deepest fears and darkest desires and conquered them. That didn't make her a better person. That merely freed her to act on those desires, and you suffered as a result."

All was silent for a long time.

"And what do you suggest?" I said at last.

"If you let me help, I can take away your Persona and, with it, your memories. The recent events would be nothing more than a bad dream. And when you awake, you will be Taylor Hebert again, free from the taint of your Shadow."

"And I'll be back where I was," I said bitterly.

"Not necessary. It is likely that Winslow will be closed after everything that happened. And even if not, many students would transfer. Your tormentors can be among them. And so can you. You will be given an opportunity to start anew, Taylor. Free from your Shadow and free from those who shaped it."

I considered it. It was... a tempting offer. So far this whole business brought me nothing but misery and inner turmoil. If I could just forget about everything, if I could leave it all behind... Well, it seemed I could.

"Why should I trust you?" I asked at last. Nothing came without a price, and the surroundings did nothing to ease my mind. Then again, if an offer was made in a more pleasant place, by a more pleasant person, wouldn't that be a better indication of a trap? Wasn't that hostile surreal world more honest than the alternative?

"You have to trust somebody to get through it, and you can't fully trust yourself. Even now your thought patterns shift closer to that of your Shadow," the voice said.

And perhaps it was correct. I tried to remember what I thought when I found myself in the Fog World. My memory was fuzzy, but I was pretty sure my reaction was stronger then than now. Different. Was it a sign that I was changing? Was my mistrust? If I truly couldn't trust myself, should I make a leap of faith? Or was it all wrong? Was my doubt clouding my judgement, making me blind to an obvious trap?

"Just think about it," the voice said. A red key appeared lying on The Emperor card. "There is no rush for now. With this key, you will always be able to return here, should you want to accept my offer."

I took the key. It was warm and slightly wet.

"For now, I have a different offer to make, as a sign of my goodwill. Sophia."

"What do you mean?"

"I can release her from your control. That is what you want, isn't it?"

Did I? I said I did, I remembered that, but did I truly want her to be free? Or was it something I thought I should want?

"It is what a good person would want," the voice continued.

I took a deep breath.

"How do we do it?"

"Just say you agree to give me the Persona of Sophia Hess, and I will release her from your control."

"I do," I said before I had a chance to hesitate.

Something shifted inside of me, a puzzle piece falling out from its place, leaving me less than I was before.

A fifth card appeared on the table only to be swallowed by the hole before I could see the image. Perhaps for the better. I could have lunged after it at that moment of loss.

"And so it is done," said the voice. "It was the right choice, I assure you."

"So," I said, and my voice was hoarse as if I were crying, "what now?"

"Now I bid you farewell. Goodbye, Taylor. I hope to see you soon. I am sure you have it in you to make the right decision."

The hole expanded then to consume the whole world.

Everything went black.

* * *

_By the darkness she was blinded._

_By her own heartbeat she was deafened._

_By the exhaustion from long running she was made numb._

_The only feelings that remained were the taste of blood on her bitten tongue and the smell of dying things. She didn't know if she were running from or towards those things. She only knew that they were getting closer with each step._

_Many times she tried to remember how she's got there, where was she and what was her destination, but the only thing her mind could conjure was the image of a great black spiral spinning faster and faster until it reached the end._

_All she knew is that she had to run, for every time she slowed down her double would squeeze her hand tighter, breaking the boundary of numbness, turn to face her, briefly illuminating the world that was the space between them with a flash of yellow eyes, and whisper, killing the silence, "We have to run or they'll find us." She would smile then and say, "Don't worry, Aisha. I am you and you are me, and we are all we'll ever need."_


End file.
